Runaway Experiment
by toxiclovedrops
Summary: Hinata brings a stray animal to her home, unbeknowst to her of the danger and trouble she'll have to face out of that act... This is a SasuHina fanfic, and also a pissed off Kiba (RE-EDITED)... Chapter 3 fixed
1. Chapter 01

Forgive me for my messy grammar and misspelled words

Let me make this clear to you all, this is not a remix/remade story from the manga **Dakishimete Noir!** Which was written by **Iisaka Yukako** (so said Wikipedia). And no, I am not stealing the plot line from the manga above. I may have read a story similar to that before, and besides, this is a manga made in JAPAN where most mangas are similar to one another (plot wise, but arranged/portrayed differently of course). The beginning may sound similar but not the whole entire story I assure you, if I were to base my entire story on the manga, then I would've given credit to Iisaka Yukako since it's the right thing to do. But if you're going to complain and point fingers at me, then please leave and read some other story that will satisfy you to your liking.

I do not own anything. Simple as that.

* * *

**Chapter 01**

The blue haired girl looked up at the dark gloomy sky, it was raining cats and dogs.

_Darn, I forgot to bring my umbrella again._

Hinata didn't mind the rain, really she didn't. But due to her weak health, exposing her body to the cold rain will make her sick, or worse, catch a fever. Ever since she was a child, she was held–well more like trapped– inside her house during any cold or harsh weathers.

Hinata was always aware about her surroundings whenever she sets foot out of her own house. It became a habit to her whenever she goes off elsewhere, mainly to school or to the supermarket. Hinata never, not once, grew annoyed by it. She accepted her condition and tried her best to avoid anything that will make her ill, but the little girl just couldn't help but wonder how it would feel like to step outside the house freely for once without a care about her weak body. As if she were a regular girl… doing regular things that any normal person would do. Like maybe, dance in the rain, go to the beach, roll around in a flowery meadow, make snow angels, and maybe–

"Oi! Hinata!"

The images in her mind rapidly vanished when she heard somebody shout out from behind her. She spun her head to the person who called out and saw her friend running towards her.

"O-oh, hello Kiba–"

The boy came up to the girl and gave her an unexpected hug. The sudden action surprised her, there was a long silence.

"Umm, Kiba... what's-"

"I'm so sorry Hinata!"

Kiba interrupted her before she could end her sentence, she pushed her hands on his torso to look up at him directly. The girl did so with some struggle seeing that her friend's hold on her was still firm. Hinata scrunched her eyebrows together, "Why are you apologizing? Y-you didn't do anything wrong, right?"

Kiba shifted his eyes away slightly, "I promised you that I was going to walk you home today, but..."

The petite girl crossed her arms and gave him a look like every mother would throw at a child who has done some sort of crime. "Come on Kiba, spit it out."

Kiba scratched the side of his scalp, struggling on what to say next,

"I, well… Heh, I got in trouble after pranking one of the teachers today. Later after lunch I was caught by the principle, she dragged me to her office. And so Tsunade-san gave me an after school detention today." he lowered his head in shame.

Hinata blinked a couple of times, "You got d-detention?" she asked, and he nodded sadly.

"Yeah... on a Saturday* too! I never should have taken that dare." He let out a depressed sigh.

"I'm so sorry Hinata!" He ruffled his hair in frustration, "Gah! If it weren't for that dare I wouldn't have-!"

Hinata stifled a giggle that managed to silence Kiba, his moving hands stopped with the ruffling, his face instinctively turned to hers with his mouth a gap. Dark wild eyes met with her beautiful gentle ones. Hinata took notice of this and ceased her laughter.

"Kiba-kun, i-it's alright. No need to say sorry. I can handle walking home by myself for t-today." She gave him a warm smile.

"Are you sure?" He questioned, and she nodded.

"A-absolutely, no worries. but seriously Kiba, you have to know when enough i-is enough. I don't want to walk home alone for the rest of the school y-year." the small girl let out a soft chuckle, he could feel his face heat up in embarrassment.

"Maybe I should wait for you." Kiba's ears perked up at this, similar to that of a dog. He fixed his eyes on her with a hint of plea, he internally punched himself for wishing something so selfish. To let a girl wait for _him_? No, he must sadly turn that glorious offer down. Although, the mere thought of it sounded interesting. Having the Hyuuga wait for him outside in the hallway, leaning against the lockers, fiddling with her fingers, awaiting for Kiba to come out and walk her home... hand in hand– Wait, what? And just like before, he interjected.

"Woah, no there's no need for that. Really Hinata, you'll just be wasting your time here. And also, it's raining like crazy, if you wait any longer the weather will get worse. So it'll be best to head on home where it's nice and cozy."

"A-are you sure?" She asked in a concerned tone.

"Yeah, I'm sure." He said with a hint of disappointment in his voice, but that soon faded when he snapped his fingers. "Oh! Speaking of rain, here, you can barrow this." He gave Hinata an umbrella, to which she gratefully accepted in her hands. "Oh! Thank y-you Kiba, you're a life saver!" Hinata gave him a big thank you hug. He gave out a chuckle and ruffled Hinata's pixie short hair, "Heh, no problem. Hey, did you bring your jacket?" Hinata said nothing, Kiba responded with another laugh.

"Alright alright. Here, you can take my jacket then." He stripped off his sports jacket and handed it over to Hinata, she eyed him with another concerned look. "But what about you?"

He jabbed his thumb on his back-pack, "Don't worry, I got a spare."

Hinata again accepted what was given to her, the girl bowed her head low to show great gratitude, "Thank you again Kiba, I-I'm sorry for troubling you."

The boy shook his head and gave one last pat on her head, "You say sorry too much you know that?".

Kiba gave his farewells to Hinata and headed off to detention, also known as 'HELL'. Hinata waved good bye to her friend with sympathy until he was out of sight, she then opened up the umbrella and began to walk.

* * *

Her hand clutched onto the hem of Kiba's jacket, while the other held on to the umbrella firmly against the mild wind. The rain drops danced on the plastic surface, _tap tap tap_. She hummed a catchy tune to go along with the changing beat, to at least keep her mind busy on the song instead of the silent walk to her home. Without Kiba by her side, the trip felt rather quiet and lonesome. She let out a sad sigh.

_Kiba-kun, why do you have to be such a trouble maker?_

Ever since she met him in elementary school, the boy wouldn't stop with his silly shenanigans, he would do anything to bring some humor to the people. As years passed by, his jokes became much more hilarious one right after the other, he became pretty well known due to his outrageous pranks and all... especially in high school, which made him well known among the student body and on many teacher's hit lists.

Hinata couldn't help but feel a tad bit jealous of him, he had gained so many friends and was basically open to anyone. While she on the other hand was, well... the complete opposite.

Many people consider him as the school's class prankster, a delinquent, and not to mention a star athlete. He liked running, the boy was really good at it too, which would've explained why he joined the track team. It startled a few students when they saw him training along with the other track people out on the field. Especially the girls when they saw him shirtless, that was the time when Kiba's track mates where trying to pull a prank on him to compensate all the tricks he's pulled on them. Of course it was just for laughs, the boys meant no harm at all. All they wanted was a few laughs and total humiliation for the boy. But they received unexpected results.

The Hyuuga remembered the time when she first saw the inside of her friend's locker, this was after Track practice. It contained about a few love letters, all were neatly sealed within a colorful envelope and are coated with this sweet scent that didn't mix well with the others.

He would receive these sort of things occasionally after every practice and game. His locker would always reek of this sickly sweet rosy aroma along with some home-made cookies and chocolates that she assumed were made by the culinary-art students. The boy was overwhelmed, being showered by gifts and letters that contained many of his admirers's feelings. But he grew somewhat accustomed to it over time.

Hinata caught sight of the cross walk and hopped onto the white strips, she continued on to the next with a tap on her shoe's heel, avoiding the imaginary black lava. The girl was just a few steps away from the side walk, the street sign flickered, green transitioned to yellow. At this, the Hyuuga quickened her pace until she reached to the other side just in time before the sign turned red. She continued onward, with Kiba resurfacing in her mind.

Despite the number of confessions given to him by so many girls in the school, he denied to go out with any of them. Hinata was curious at his constant refusal, and so she decided to ask him why face to face, hoping to get a straight answer out of him. In the end, the Hyuuga only received a blush from the boy, followed by an out of the blue knock-knock joke. He can be so strange sometimes...

Poor clueless Hinata.

When the girl ended her thoughts about her friend, she came to a stop. Her eyes caught something moving, a dark snake slithered on the cold concrete sidewalk, that she _almost_ stepped on. A startled 'meep' escaped her lips, she took a couple of steps back until she was at a fair distance. Relief washed over her at her quick impulse, but that feeling did not linger for too long. Dread quickly consumed her in a matter of seconds. Something wasn't right here, the snake wasn't moving away, it's movements were abnormal, unfitting.

Hinata noted that the snake's scales were dark and furry, she quickly came to realize that the thing wasn't a snake at all, but a tail. The Hyuuga's eyes trailed away from the end of the tail, in hopes to identify this non reptile creature. But she only managed to find the creature's identity to be concealed by the leaves of a mere bush.

Curiosity took the best of her, she hesitantly took a step forward and stooped down close to the shrub, her stiff cold free hand tentatively pushed aside the leaves to reveal what she least expected to see. Stricken, her hand retreated away from the bush to cover her mouth, she held in her breath unknowingly, and her grip on the umbrella tightened.

The girl stood there in place, not moving an inch under the pouring rain.

It took her a while to finally regain her strength, and the ability to breathe again. She mustered enough strength and courage to look inside the shrub once more. She felt an imaginary lump in her throat and her eyes squinted at what lied in front of her.

It was a cat, it's fur color can be barely identified in the shadow. The smell of rust filled her lungs, the stench was just so unbearable, so agonizingly powerful, similar to before. She wanted to run away from the scene. But this time Hinata stood firm and still, and fought the urge to puke. Her nose twitched in disgust upon recognition of this strange smell. It was blood.

She looked down at the feline sympathetically, its breathing barely audible under the rain, the cat's body probably immobile due to the wounds that were inflicted upon the poor thing. It pained her to see the animal in such a state. She wanted to help the cat, take the little fellow home and nurse it back to health.

And that's exactly what the little Hyuuga is going to do.

She inched herself forward to the injured feline and extended her hand at it. Upon doing so, she managed to break a small arm of a branch off. The cat's ears perked up at the sudden 'crunch' noise, its fierce eyes snapped open and caught sight of the girl. The cat groggily growled at her, giving the girl a warning. Her hand shrinked back at the cat's reaction, this pierced Hinata's heart dearly. But, that didn't stop her. No way will she let the poor thing die out here in the cold rain. She put aside her feelings and continued on furthering her advancement on helping the animal.

"Don't worry, I-I won't hurt you." Hinata said with full honesty, the cat stared at her still, his fangs still bared. The girl simply ignored its hisses, "I will never hurt you.. so please, just let me help you."

The growling ceased, its ears slowly lowered, as did its guard. Hinata took the chance and gently cradled the cat into her arms, "Don't worry, I've got you." She covered the cat's body with her jacket, and picked him up, away from the cold ground.

"You're safe now. " she mumbled as she brought the creature close to her chest. The cat wiggled closer to the warmth that was omitting from the girl's body, the feline's eyes fluttered shut, clearly too tired to hold it open. Hinata gave a small smile at her victory and began to head her way back home with the sleeping creature in her arms.

* * *

Hinata was finally done. She treated all of the cat's wounds and gave the little fellow a nice warm bath. "Phew, th-that was a lot of work, but in the end... it was all w-worth it." She buttoned up her fresh clean pj top, the girl then looked down at the sleeping feline.

She has done a thorough inspection on the cute little guy, there were no signs of any infections. Meaning that the cat was rabies free, and well enough to stay over the night until she can find a good pet store that's willing to foster the little fellow. A mewl was heard, the cat snuggled its cheeks against the pillow it was sleeping on. Hinata silently awed at the sight, never would she have ever imagined herself to do something so reckless. The girl silently thanked the Gods that her cousin Neji wasn't living with her, because he would never approve something like this to happen in the house hold.

Neji was a few years older than her, he is now off to college in the states, studying in a medical school. He would occasionally call her once a week to see if she's taking her medications or not and making sure that she's doing well with her studies. Despite the great distance between both her and her cousin, Neji never seems to stop worrying about her.

All thoughts about her cousin ended when something peculiar caught Hinata's eyes, that's when she discovered the little silver collar lying on top of her wooden drawer. The girl remembered taking the collar off of the cat before she bathed the creature. Upon removing it she noticed that it has left a line on the cat's neck. Hinata picked up the strange oversized ring and looked closely at it, she gently stroke the metallic collar carefully with her curious fingers.

There was no address or phone number engraved on it, except for a strange symbol that she could barely make out.

"How strange." mumbled Hinata.

She stopped with her observation and ever so gently laid the alien object down. She made her way to the bed and set her petite body right next to the cat, careful on not to wake the little fur-ball up. She then petted the feline on the head, the cat reacted with a soft purr, it's ear flickered every time she touched them, Hinata gave out a small giggle. Her eyes slowly wondered the cat's body, she felt her heart ache at the sight of the bandages and the distinct line around its neck. The thought of the mean owner abusing the little creature frightened her, she mentally shook the thought away.

"Who would do such a thing to you?" she mumbled. The cat's ears perked up at the girl's question, he gave her a long stare and gave out a small _meow_. The girl quickly looked back at the cat and gave him a nervous chuckle. "A-ah, sorry. I-I didn't mean to interrupt you and y-your nap." she scratched the side of her cheeks, the girl let out a nervous chuckle, clearly embarrassed to have awaken the cat with her little slip out. Her forced laughter quickly died however as the grim expression made its way back to her pale face.

"By the way, the p-person who did this to you, whoever did it must truly b-be a selfish, cold person."

Hinata's face began to soften, "A beautiful cat like you, should b-be handled and treated with love... don't y-you agree?" The cat did not respond, there was a long silence.

"O-oh right…. You don't understand a w-word I'm saying."

Hinata let out a little chuckle and mentally slapped herself.

"I think I've gone crazy."

Hinata gently reached for the blanket and brought it up to the both them. The girl was careful when it came to the cat, she scooted a couple spaces away in order to set a good distance between them. She didn't want to accidentally knock the poor cat, although she knew fairly well that she wasn't a rowdy person in her sleep. But still, she likes to play things safe.

Hinata gave the cat one last smile and mumbled 'good night'. The little Hyuuga slowly drifted away in her slumber. Little did she know that the cat was still staring at the girl, with its crimson-red eyes.

* * *

The sun's light beamed through the blinds, lighting up the room with a warm greeting. The light kissed Hinata's face, making the girl's eyelids to flutter open. Her eye sight was a bit blurry, she groggily rubbed her eyelids and her vision slowly adjusted to her surroundings. But she has failed to realize that the cat was no longer there beside her, instead...

"Good morning, princess."

Two strong yet lean arms snaked around Hinata's small waist, "Did you have a good sleep?" He asked in a low tone. Hinata felt something gently nuzzle against the back of her neck, hot air tickled her ear after every exhale that was made by the figure behind her. Hinata froze in place, her eyes widened in shock.

There was a long silent pause.

"G-gyaaaaaaaah!"

Hinata shrieked at the top of her lungs, making the roof of the house shoot up 5 feet in the air.

**to be continued...**

* * *

*To those who were a bit confused, in Japan, the school days can last from Monday to Saturday. Yes **Saturday**... it's horrible ._.

any who I hope you guys enjoyed this, I re-edited the whole thing. So it should be free from most errors.


	2. Chapter 02

Forgive me for my messy grammar and misspelled words

I don't own anything!

* * *

**Chapter 02**

"W-w-what! W-who? How? G-gah!" Hinata stumbled out of her bed and landed on the hard floor with a loud '_thump!'_ She then quickly backed away from the bed, trying to put as much distance between her and the intruder as possible. And then... something hard and solid stopped her from moving away any further. Her back was now against the wall.

The intruder managed to slowly straighten his arched back and stifled a yawn. He then began to ruffle his hair and lazily rubbed the side of his eye. The blanket slowly slid down the boy's body in response to his little gestures. The blanket stopped mid-way to his belly, which made the little Hyuuga's face redden. She hastily covered her eyes with her hands and let out a startled squeak_._

"Wh-who are y-you!? A-a-and how did you get into m-my house?" her voice was shaky, the poor girl looked like she was about to collapse.

The boy paused for a minute,"Well... You can call me Sasuke. And no, I did not break into your house." He said with full honesty, but it was impossible to distinct it by his monotonous voice.

Hinata's hands fell down, she was without a doubt, a hundred percent confused now.

"W-well then, why are you in m-my-" Hinata's question was caught off soon by Sasuke's own.

"You don't remember? The cat you rescued yesterday?" he asked, to which Hinata hesitantly nodded.

"Y-yes, what about th-the cat? How d-did you k-know about h-him?"

"That cat you rescued the other day was me." He stated, Hinata stayed silent, the boy can't be serious right? She shook her head and managed to mumble out one word, "I-impossible."

Sasuke continued on, "_You_ were the one who brought me here yesterday. And _you_ were the one who treated my wounds."

He stretched out his left arm to prove his statement. Hinata's eyes stared at the sight in shock, but still... she wasn't quite sure about all this. Was this boy, Sasuke, speaking the truth? Is he really the cat from that night? Hinata shook her head in deny, "H-how can th-that be? You can't seriously be th-that cat that I rescued. That can't p-possibly be true."

He tilted his head slightly, "Do you want more proof?" he asked nonchalantly, she hesitated for a minute.

She really didn't want to do this... this whole _role playing _thing. She should be contacting the police station right now. Or better yet, cry for help in hopes that her neighbors would hear her. But she didn't, she couldn't. Why? Because her curiosity got the best of her.

She took a deep breath and put on a serious face... "I-i'll believe it when I s-see it." she bravely stuttered out. Sasuke gave a light nod at the girl's response.

"Very well." As Sasuke got off the bed, he discarded the blanket to the side. Now that the blanket was fully removed, the Hyuuga could see his exposed chest, which was also covered in bandages that ran down to his slim stomach. And that was when she almost saw _it._ Her face was now red, red as a tomato.

Hinata let out another squeak, she quickly closed her eyes shut and waved her hands in refusal.

"N-n-no! D-d-don't get up l-like that! You're n-not wearing any–!"

The flustered girl was cut off by a small meow.

She quickly snapped her eyes back open and turned her head to the cat that stood in front of her. The little feline tilted his head innocently and gave another meow to her. Hinata's eyes were the size of dinner plates and her lower jaw hung down.

"N-no way." She stuttered out, Hinata rubbed her eyes roughly and opened them again. The cat was still there, much to her disbelief.

The truth gave the little Hyuuga a major impact, she was starting to feel a bit uneasy. Hinata placed her hand on her head, the room suddenly began to spin. Hinata's body started to sway from side to side. Her white eyes started to swirl, and then-

_Thump!_ Hinata's back fell flat on the floor, she fainted.

Everything suddenly became bleary, darkness returned to consume her once more... But before the darkness could fully take her, she saw the young boy again. His body hunched over her with an unreadable expression.

His mouth moved but no words came out, she didn't catch or understood what he was saying. Before she knew it, she was out like a flame.

* * *

Sasuke held on to the fainted girl, "You are very strange." he whispered.

The guy swiftly picked Hinata up and gently laid her body on the soft comfy bed. Hinata snuggled against the pillow and mumbled incoherent words to it.

He hesitantly brought his hand down towards her face and stroked the few strands of hair to the side, exposing her face. He lowered his head down to her and nuzzled his nose behind her ear, he greedily inhaled her scent that he came so fixated with. He exhaled and mumbled lightly, "And yet, I've found you rather _interesting_."

* * *

The seated man held a very grim expression on his his pale face, his index finger tapped repeatedly on the metallic desk. The men in white lab coats stood in front of him nervously, fear loomed over them as they helplessly waited for the man to speak.

"So what you're saying is, you haven't found him yet?" said the man in a low dark tone.

The scientists gulped and answered in unison, "Y-yes sir." They kept their heads down low, afraid to look up at the man's cold eyes.

"This truly does disappoint me you know? But lucky for you, your punishment won't be _too _brutal. Now leave, I have much thinking to do." He waved his hand to them in dismissal. The five bowed their heads low and left with their tails between their legs. By the time they left, the pale man eyed the stapler that lied next to him on his desk. His hand instinctively flung the object over at the wall, a loud crash was heard upon collision. Some of the staples fell out and met the ground, followed by the metallic stapler itself.

How did this happen? Why now of all times? He was so CLOSE!

Days have passed and there was still no sign of Sasuke, he wasn't sure as to how he got out. But frankly, he didn't give a damn. All he cared about now was getting him BACK. He clenched his fists tightly in irritation, his nails dug into his paper skin. He didn't pay mind of the stinging pain for he was too focused on one thing. Sasuke Uchiha, his runaway experiment.

The man gave out a violent exhale until he regained his composure. He sat down and rubbed the sides of his forehead, in hopes that doing so would help wash the stress away. He didn't want anymore wrinkles to form on his flawless face, "Where oh, where has our trouble making kitty cat gone Kabuto?"

As if on cue, a young looking man with grey hair and glasses approached right beside the distressed man. He appears to be scribbling a couple of words down on his clipboard, "Our men said that due to the location of our dead little pups, the boy somewhere within Konoha." Kabuto stopped his scribbling for a moment to adjust his glasses.

Orochimaru leaned his elbow on the handle and laid his chin on the palm of his hand, "Is that so?" he asked. Kabuto nodded positively.

"Now, how exactly are we going to get him back?" Orochimaru asked in a sudden different, and rather polite tone. The young man, Kabuto, went back to scribbling, "Some of our scientists suggested on sending out the new and improved hounds." he stated.

The paled faced man raised a brow, "New and improved you say? Why, I like the sound of that." The man straightened his posture, he began to rub his chin, "Bring out the new hounds will you please Kabuto?"

Kabuto nodded, "As you wish." the grey haired boy then grabbed what seems to be a communication device from his belt and dialed in a a few digits, the speaker buzzed and a crackly voice omitted from the little gadget.

"_Yes?_" it said.

"It's Kabuto." he said.

"_What do you need?"_

_"_I need you to bring the hounds up to the boss's office."

_"Of course, right away." _a beep ended the transmission, minutes later a knock was heard from the door.

"Come in." Orochimaru said with a pinch of excitement.

The metallic doors swooshed open, a tall man with silver hair and a mask that covered the half of his face entered with a few over sized dogs tailing right behind him. "You wanted to see them, am I right?" questioned the tall man. Kabuto nodded for Orochimaru, "That's right."

The masked man bowed and the affirmation and whipped his head at the dogs to get in formation. The hounds all formed a line, at the snap of the man's fingers, their noses pointed up high and their backs snapped straight up as their lower bodies leveled down to the cemented floor. A pleasing smile appeared on Orochimaru's face at the sign of total obedience, "Impressive."

He stood up and walked towards the hounds, he slowly walked around them and analyzed the canines' features from head to toe.

"Kakashi, you won't mind if I let them out to play for a while, do you?" said the man,

The man, Kakashi, eyed Orochimaru with worry. "Are you sure that's wise? They're not fully stable yet." Kakashi stated, trying his best to help Orochimaru reconsider. But it seems that it didn't work.

"Yes I am sure of it..." The longed haired man stopped with his walking and bent down to gently pet the oversized dog's head that satin front of him, "I'm rather curious on what these little creatures can do. That and how Sasuke can resist the urge to reconnect to his beastly self."

He stopped his petting and then unbuckled the straps of the muzzle that was wrapped around the dog's mouth. The muzzle clanged when it hit the floor, the sound of it echoed the room making the ears of the dogs perk upward. Orochimaru's lips formed a wicked smile as he gazed at the hound's enormous jaws.

He brought his finger up and traced the lining of its teeth. Up, down, up, down... In a zig-zag motion, he was careful enough not to get too close to the ends of the teeth, seeing that they're sharp enough to draw blood.

"What a site to behold. The wonders of what science could do, don't you agree?" Orochimaru mused to no one in particular, he gave one last pat on the dogs head before he stood up, wiping the invisible dirt from his knees.

"Kakashi. Are the hounds good at tracking?"

Kakashi nodded, "Yes, they are exceptional trackers. I'm assuming you want them to track down Sasuke?" He asked. Orochimaru shook his head, "Oh no, I do not want them to _just _track him. I want them to track the boy and _drag_ him back here to me. Back home, if you will."

Orochimaru returned behind his study table and slumped down on his comfy seat, "And please do be gentle with him... I don't want him to get hurt, after all the trouble he has caused." he said rather half heartedly, with a hint of sarcasm that was not hard to miss.

Kabuto raised a brow, "Wouldn't it be troublesome to let them all run off by themselves? They will most likely harm innocent people during their hunt, or even worse, devour them."

Orochimaru rubbed his chin thoughfully, "Hmm. Yes now that you mentioned it, you've got a good point there Kabuto." He turned his attention on Kakashi, "Why don't you tag along Kakashi? Just to ensure that nothing goes out of hand. No need to let them all out, just one will do. I most certainly do not want them to make a ruckus out there and draw any further attention about _us_."

Kakashi nodded in confirm, "Understood sir. When do you want us to set off?"

"As soon as possible." he said, the masked man nodded and left with the hounds.

"Well, I think this is the best time for me to head back to work. Good bye sir." Kabuto followed the last dog out, before he set foot off the room he looked back at the pale man, "And please refrain yourself from damaging anymore innocent objects."

With that said, he was out of sight.

It was dead silent...

The man blinked a couple of times when he noticed this, he let out a low chuckle, "Wow. I didn't know my office was so quiet."

Orochimaru turned his seat around, making him face the back of the room that was covered with multiple plasma screens. One displayed a map of Konoha, another one showed a view of every Konoha's street surveillance cameras that his team managed to hack, and one displayed a radar screen. Yes. This man truly is determined on tracking down his lost experiment.

A creepy smile crept on the man's face, "Ready or not, here I come my little kitten."

**to be continued...**


	3. Chapter 03

**Chapter 03**

The sound of a bird's high pitched singing woke Hinata up, her eyes slowly opened.

The room was dimly lit by the sun... She forced herself up by pushing her elbows down on the bed to help elevate her. A sudden pain throbbed in her forehead, she gently rubbed the side of her head in comfort. Images flashed through her mind, images of a boy transforming into, a cat? It didn't make since, her eyebrows pulled close together in confusion.

"What a strange d-dream."

A voice was heard from the side of her bed, which made Hinata's skin jump.

"Hello again princess." The girl quickly turned her head to the source of the sound, she can feel her eyes widen at who she saw. It was Sasuke, the boy that appeared in her vision of the said dream. The boy was sitting down on the floor, his chin resting on his crossed arms that laid on the edge of her bed. A strange thought crept into her mind, has he been watching her the whole time she was out?

Hinata let the thought slip away and focused her attention on the boy again, that's when she noticed the clothes he was wearing. He was wearing her clothes? No, they weren't hers, they belonged to her Cousin, Neji, as well as her friend, Kiba.

Sasuke was wearing Kiba's red and white track sweat jacket that she distinctively remembered stowing somewhere in her closet last night before she treated his wounds. She also spotted her cousin's dark jogging pants that seemed to reach down to his toes. The clothes surprisingly fit the boy perfectly.

She eyed at her closet and saw the door slightly ajar, it was obvious at what the boy did. The fact that he went through her closet didn't affect her much, she was just glad that he was no longer bare. That and her closet were mostly filled with Neji's clothes since Hinata didn't find buying new outfits necessary. Sasuke caught her staring at the closet, "Sorry, I hope you don't mind me wearing your clothes for a while. I didn't mean to make you feel further uncomfortable around me. I hope that's alright."

Hinata was amazed at the guy's choice of words, she never expected a... well a guy to act so calm, composed, and at ease in this strange situation. She shook her head in deny, "N-no, no. It's okay." she waved both her hands, in protest. "By a-all means, please take th-them."

Sasuke gave a light nod to show his thanks at Hinata's words.

The Hyuuga's tense body slowly loosened at the sudden change of mood. It made her feel rather relaxed and unafraid of him compared to before. The little Hyuuga couldn't help but move her attention back to the boy's face, she began to examine Sasuke with her observant eyes.

The boy didn't seem too old, or too young. Hinata assumed that Sasuke was somewhere around her age. His hair was dark as night, yet his skin was so pale. Such features made him stood out even more,which made her cheeks unkowingly blush at such a thought. Her eyes then met with his, Sasuke's onyx like eyes glistened as she gazed into them, she couldn't stop staring at those beautiful orbs of his. It was as if he were hypnotizing her without even trying.

But there was something peculiar yet interesting about them, the girl couldn't really place what exactly was intriguing her. Hinata unintentionally leaned closer to the boy, it was as if his eyes were luring her in for a better look. For some reason, his eyes seems to be- "Is something wrong?"

Hinata was taken back to reality by the sound of his voice. Hinata blushed a shade of pink when she realized that she was in a close range with the boy. The Hyuuga quickly leaned back in half a heart beat. "N-n-nothing! S-sorry!" she said as she removed her gaze and lowered her head down, trying to hide her embarrassment.

He couldn't help but be amused by the girl's reaction at the simplest of things. The way she fidgeted, the way she blushed, the way she stuttered, and everything else seemed very foreign to him.

"U-umm."

He perked his ear to the sound of the girl's voice, it was barely audible, but his acute hearing picked it up.

"S-so... All that r-really happened, right?"

She asked while fiddling with her thumbs, it was a strange habit of hers whenever she felt nervous.

He nodded in response, "Yes." he said rather flatly.

Hinata's body turned to stone at the guy's answer. She was still not taking the whole 'truth' thing seriously, no rephrase that, she refused to believe such a thing. But how can she when the facts are right there in front of her?

_M-maybe if I just pinch myself. _

Hinata pinched the side of her face, she could feel the pain throbbing on her right cheek.

_Okay... That settles it, I'm definitely _**not**_ dreaming._

She rubbed her aching rosy cheek in comfort, believing that the action would help the pain go away. Hinata didn't want to admit it, but she wasn't dreaming. Nope, this was all real. No doubt about it...

_This is crazy. A guy that can transform himself into a cat? That's just too weird to be true... Oh Mom, why is this happening to me?_

"What is your, name?" Sasuke asked curiously, Hinata's train-of-thought came to a stop at the sound of his voice. She then quickly turned her head back to him.

"E-excuse me?"

"Your name?" he asked.

"O-oh...I'm sorry, my n-name is H-Hinata..." she stuttered out rather quietly.

Sasuke raised one brow up, "H-Hinata?"

She shook her head once again, "N-no no, Um just Hinata."

The boy repeated her name in confirmation, to which Hinata nodded at on her correction.

"Hinata... that's a nice name."

Hinata could feel her face heat up. "U-um, th-thank you?"

He nodded again, "You are welcome."

Hinata was struggling on what to say next, "Umm... you're n-name is Sasuke, right?" she uttered out quietly, hoping that she got the boy's name right. Sasuke's ears perked up when she said his name, the way she said it made him blush a bit. Only a little bit. He was glad that the girl remembered his name. Sasuke gave another light nod, "Yes that's right. I'm glad that, you remembered my name princess." Her body jolted at the word, her face reddened in embarrassment.

_That word again? Why won't he stop c-calling me that?_

To have a stranger call her a 'princess' is quite flattering, but the fact that this boy appeared naked at her bedside and almost showed his _thing_ to her made her feel a thousand times more uncomfortable. She cleared her throat with a forced cough and tried her best to compose herself.

"Y-yes. Umm, as I was s-saying. why are you h-here? As in, why are you h-here in Konoha Sasuke?" Hinata bravely stuttered out.

The guy paused for a minute,

"Well, I was actually, running away… I think."

The answer was unexpected, this further deepened the girl's curiosity on the strange boy, "R-running away? F-from who?" she leaned a bit closer to the boy, wanting to get more information from him.

"Yes. I was, running away from these hounds"

_Hounds? Does he mean Dogs?_

"Y-you were running away from... hounds?" Hinata questioned, Sasuke gave another one of his catlike positive nods.

"Yes,they were this close to catching me." He stated nonchalantly.

Hinata looked back down at those cursed bandages that were wrapped around Sasuke's arm. Her heart once again felt pain...

"These 'hounds'... So they were th-the ones that did a-all this to you?" Her sentence kind of shot through Sasuke, he detected the worry in both her tone and eyes. He buried his face deeper into his other arm to hide the lower half of his face, his fingers unintentionally gripping the fabric of the sport's jacket. Her concern over the little wounds bothered him a bit, and the expression that she held got him tense. He's not used to this sudden attention.

"Don't worry. I heal rather quickly." He mumbled under his arms, his eyes then looked down at the bandages that were wrapped around his arms, "I will be fine."

The girl shook her head from side to side in deny, she reached out with her hand and gently laid it on his bandaged arm, "N-nonsense, you had many wounds and d-deep cuts on your body. It's i-impossible for wounds like those to heal that f-fast."

The little Hyuuga gently pulled his right arm and placed it on top of her lap and took a hold of the end of the bandage, while her other hand held the boy's to help make the removal easier. Hinata tugged away the long white strip gently, trying her best not to ruin or worsen the wound. But, after she completely removed the bandage, there was nothing there... She found no wounds, no cuts, no bruises. nothing.

"Wait. What h-happened?" She gently traced Sasuke's arm, only to feel the smoothness of his skin "W-where did they-"

"Like I said, I heal quickly." He restated.

"B-but… how?" she questioned, and he shrugged.

"It's always been like this." he said with his eyes fixed down on his bare arm, "It always has been… because, I'm-"

* * *

_ **Snap! Crack! Snap! Crack!**_

_The dark figure crushed the poor dog's neck with its foot, the dog struggled desperately under him. The beast's forearms wiggled while its hind legs kicked furiously, trying it's best to escape. But it was too late... With one last pressure of the foot, life quickly faded away from the hound's eyes._

_The killer lifted his foot off of the mutt's back, no satisfaction was written on the murderer's face. Not victory, nor triumph, not even pain... an emotionless killing machine. __But that killing machine was just a mere little boy named Sasuke. His body glimmered under the dim light, the boy's bare chest was covered with the blood of the canine. Back was hunched low, killer eye's still fixed down at the dog's dead body, tensed muscles slowly eased as the adrenaline faded away from his whole body._

_The boy's mind finally took control, his glowing maroon iris slowly melted into a dark onyx color... His hands began to quake as realization hit him. The boy bit harshly onto his lips in order to keep himself from puking on the ground._

_The sound of applause echoed the room, "My Sasuke... you've done very well." said the tall man with a wide, Cheshire like smile on his face. "I see that you've excelled quite beautifully over a small amount of time..." The older man slowly circled around Sasuke while humming a happy tune, "As expected from you, and my have you've grown." He stopped at Sasuke's right side, his smile widen even more, "You truly are an amazing creature, don't you agree?"_

_His happy humming came to a stop, he expected an answer from the boy, but received none. He frowned in disappoint, similar to that of a child who didn't receive a toy. __The man tilted his head down to Sasuke, __"I think you need to work on your social skills a little more, my dear boy." The man let out a cold chuckle, "You really have changed into something Sasuke... You really have." He ruffled up the boy's spiky hair._

* * *

Sasuke found himself bitting the insides of his lips without his consent, he felt his head throbbing immensely.

"S-sasuke... what's wrong?" Sasuke snapped out of his daze and slowly looked up to the Hyuuga's face.

"What do you mean?" he managed to speak without showing her his bruised lips.

Hinata tilted her head a bit. "You looked hurt at that time. When you m-mentioned about your wounds healing...?"

_Again with that weird look on her face_

Sasuke stayed silent again, Hinata's grip from her hands tightened a bit on his palms, "Sasuke, what is it?" The boy felt couldn't quit say what it was that bothered him. But it disturbed him greatly, the visions, the voice of a man haunting his mind. Her snow white eyes begged for answers, the boy could see the innocence and kindness in them. Sasuke felt a sharp sting in his chest.

_Stop it already_.

With one quick motion, he grabbed hold of the girl's hand without warning.

A gasp escaped from the Hyuuga's lips, Sasuke gently brought her hand down to the side of his face, not paying any attention at her stuttering. The girl tried her best to wiggle her hand free, but she was too flustered to even react.

"Hinata..." he mumbled, the Hyuuga could feel his breath tickling her left palm. Sasuke closed his eyes as he inhaled the scent of her hand, the smell of it was so, captivating. He then rubbed his cheek against her palm, the texture of it felt so soft... Sasuke never felt anything as gentle as this before. Sure the bed was comfy and all, but it was nothing compared to this.

"Why? Why care for such a thing?" He asked huskily under his breath.

Hinata stood still, eyes locked down at her hand, then at him. "Sasuke?"

The sound of the birds twittering came to a stop, everything fell silent.

**to be continued...**

* * *

Herro my fellow readers.

please do me a favor and hit that review button down below? What's that? No you say? Well fine then, no goodies for you 8(


	4. Chapter 04

**Chapter 04**

The masked man looked at the scene from a distance, from there he watched Sasuke and the girl with his observant eye while the other remained concealed by his hair. He enjoyed the show, really he did. But unfortunately, the show must come to an end. Kakashi knew that his boss's orders were absolute, he is to locate Sasuke and 'drag' him back to Orochimaru.

A sigh escaped his lips as he turned his head to the sitting beast from his right who was waiting patiently for a command. The man reached out his hand to the canine's head and gave the ginormous beast a light pat, the dog automatically lowered its head down to his master. Kakashi leaned near to the canine's ear and mumbled.

"On my mark, I want you to –"

The hound nudged the man's arm with it's snout to show its confirmation, Kakashi gave one last ruffle on the dog's head before he stood up. Another sigh escaped his lips as he looked back down at the lovely scene, "Fetch."

* * *

"S-sa…suke."

Everything was silent, all that can be heard was Hinata's heart beating rapidly. The poor girl tried her best to calm down, forcing herself to take deep breaths but failed to do so. She couldn't do anything, all Hinata could do was stay still as a rock and just stare.

_B-bump_

She could feel that dreaded thing in her chest beating faster every second, Sasuke tilted his head, his hold on her hand tightened. Her body tensed…

_B-bump, b-bump_

Heat hastily spread across her delicate pale face when Sasuke's lips gently brushed against her warm palm. She gulped.

_B-bump, b-bump, b-bump_

His dark eyes held tranquility, but was quickly replaced with something else, something wild. In a split second, Sasuke lunged towards to Hinata with his arms outstretched.

_B-bump!_

The boy's lean arms wrapped themselves securely around her frame, his cheek grazed against her own, and his rough chest soon met hers. The force sent the two to hover above the bed. A crashing sound was heard. Hinata's eyes were fixed on the ceiling, and from there she could see fine shards of glass twinkling in the sun's faint rays above them.

"wh... what?"

They came down on the floor with a thud, the girl whimpered when she felt the throbbing pain on her head once again. She felt something breathing on her cheek, the Hyuuga hesitantly opened her eyes to see what was happening. That's when she noticed that Sasuke's face was inches close to hers, she could feel her own heart beating... fast. She also noted that his hold on her did not loosen one bit, the fact that he was in close rage with her made her uncomfortable – very uncomfortable.

She wiggled her arms free from Sasuke's embrace and placed her hands on his chest to lift him off herself.

"S-sasuke, can you please g-get off?" She gave another forceful push, hoping that he'll give her some space. But he didn't move, not even an inch. She looked up at his eyes, he was glaring at something. But what exactly is he glaring at? She followed his gaze, fear struck her in an instant. There, standing in front of them stood, a monster.

The creature gave out a growl, its amber eyes focused on Sasuke... Without hesitation, it lunged forward with its jaws wide open. Sasuke held the girl close him as he dodged the beast's attack. The large figure collided itself to the book shelf and the small lamp stand posted next to it. The mutt stumbled down to the floor, it regained posture with haste and violently shook off the debris and books that fell on its back.

The creature's eyes automatically found the two kids again, the girl's face remained hidden from the hound's glare against the folds of the boy's jacket. She was shivering like a leaf, purely petrified.A small smirk itched its way to Sasuke's lips, mocking the canine at his failure. That small action triggered something in the Canine, it lunged forward again without warning, its claws and jaws bare.

The boy took action and leaped through the air, his foot landed on top of the dog's head, and with a good leap, the two kids managed escaped through the window. The beast stumbled forward at the force, meeting the bed side face first. The creature quickly shook it's head and recovered himself from the impact. Bloodshot eyes faced on the back of the two retreating figures. Another growl was made, in a split second, the room was empty and silent once again.

* * *

Hinata was now... hyperventilating. She gripped onto Sasuke's jacket with quivering hands as the wind whipped their faces.

"Wh-what... was... th-that!"

"A hound." he said with no falter as he leapt off from a nearby tree branch.

The girl's eyes widened, "A-a hound? B-but that's no d-dog, that's more like... a big w-wolf!"

The boy shook his head, "They may look like a wolf. But they are beyond that, they are larger and – much more deadly than a mere wolf. They are corrupted, mutated."

Hinata was quiet for a moment, "M-mu... tated? H-how did you know?"

He said nothing in return, his eyes grew distant, distracted. He looked lost, as if his mind has somehow slipped away from reality, from Hinata. She looked up at him with confusion, "Sas-" a loud bark interrupted her, it was obvious that the hound had already caught up to them.

The boy was brought back from his stupor at the sound, he voice returned with a instructive tone, "Hold on."

Hinata did so without any complaint.

Sasuke quickened his pace, his eyes flickered at what lied ahead of them. He gave one big leap, Hinata let out startled shriek and clutched onto him even tighter. She gasped as they approached a building that stood within the planted trees. The large track field caught her eyes, along with the familiar rusted iron gates with a large sign with the name of the establishment. This was her school, Konoha Highschool.

A firm jolt knocked her from her thoughts, she looked at her surroundings and noted that they were on the roof top of her school. The boy laid the girl behind one of the large air vents.

"Stay put, and remain hidden." He walked off and left her there.

Hinata extended her hand, trying to stop him from walking any further. But her hand quickly retreated at the sight of their monstrous pursuer. She backed away on pure impulse and hid in fear. Hinata felt the cold vent touch her back, her body now completely hidden, out of sight. Her heart was pounding again, she could feel her lungs hurting, burning, she gasped suddenly. Hinata found her self clenching onto her shirt as well as a her skin underneath, the Hyuuga didn't realize that she was holding her breath. Yeah, she was completely terrified.

But once again, curiosity got the best of her. She didn't fight the urge to peek out from the side of the vent.

Big mistake.

* * *

His cold menacing glare was aimed straight at the canine as he approached the beast. The hound wasn't affected by the boy's intimidating glare at all, the dog was determined to take down the boy, so without hesitation, the beast stepped forward to his objective.

After a couple of steps, Sasuke stopped from his tracks. The canine however did not, it continued its pace, circling the boy in hopes that doing so would intimidate him.

The boy closed his eyes in a heartbeat.

He inhaled the cold morning air and exhaled with annoyance, the beast's ears perked up and in a split second. It dashed towards the boy with its jaws wide open, ready to take a bite on the boy's very own flesh. At that moment, his eye lids shot up, the dark emotionless eyes no longer present. The color of his eyes started to melt away, revealing a new color... crimson red. Two slithering figures surfaced from his blood pooled eyes as they swirled around his dark pupils.

A word silently escaped his lips, "Sharingan."

* * *

Kakashi recorded his observation down on to his little note pad. The wind pushed the corner of the paper, which made the man screw up on one of the letterings.

With a flinch of his fingers, the pencil flipped in one quick motion. He began erasing the deformed letter, however his rubbing came to a stop when his observant eye spotted the girl once again. His fingers unknowingly gripped on too hard for the little pencil to bear, "...crap."

* * *

Time moved slow to him, giving the boy the advantage to this little fight. The beast didn't see the boy move to the other side, which resulted the creature to miss his target. This angered the hound, again the dog charged for Sasuke, and just like before... the attack was evaded. Again, and again, and again.

From a fair distance, Hinata was simply amazed at how Sasuke avoided the large dog's attacks. Captivated by his swift movements, she was at lost for words. She held on the side of the cold air vent tighter, she watched both of the figures intently. A slight chill ran up her spine when she saw the smile on the boy's face.

After the countless dodges, the boy had about enough. Just when the hound was just centimeters away from gnawing at Sasuke's flesh, he punched the dog right dead square on the snout, making it stumble down backwards on the cold floor. It skidded until the dog's body met against the concrete border that prevent it from falling off the roof. From there, the hound laid motionless and still, the boy made his way to the assumed dead body of the hound.

But before his cat senses could warn him, the creature instantly twisted itself around and managed to swipe his claws at the boy. Sasuke acted on impulse and jumped back to evade the surprise attack, he did so with little success. He felt something graze his stomach, the boy couldn't prevent the hiss from escaping his lips.

Sasuke immediately examined the damage on his chest, clearly not pleased at what was done by the hound. the boy clenched his fist unknowingly until it started shaking. Before the hound lashed out at the boy again, the air was knocked right out from its lungs. Apparently Sasuke gave the beast a good round house kick on the chest, the force of it was strong by the audible crack of the dog's rib cage. The beast met the floor, hard.

The boy looked down at the poor hound, he could hear it's whimpering, it's limbs trembling, its nose twitched violently at every greedy inhale for air. Such a sad state to witness, if only there was a way to set the poor thing free. The boy simply nudged the canine's side with his foot, making it roll on its belly, exposing it back to him.

The boy gently rested his foot on the center center and applied some pressure on his heel, more crackling sounds were made that sent shivers and goosebumps throughout the boy's whole body. The feeling of the dog's resistance under his foot made the corners of his lips twitch upwards even more.

* * *

From behind the boy's back, the girl sat there fear stricken. Her hands were quivering, unsteady... yet they've still managed to stay glued to her lips. Her throat has grown dry and tired from the multiple urges to puke out her dinner, she was doing well until the fourth time. Dried tear trails were quickly covered and retraced by more tears, the site was just unbearable.

The whines, the snapping of bones, and the smell of blood engulfed her senses.

"N-no."

The dark pool under the dog's body began to expand, its eyes slowly losing its blood lust glow.

"s-stop..."

Hinata could hear the dog's devastating whines increasing in volume.

She couldn't take it any more.

She abandoned her spot and headed straight to Sasuke, she could've thought of a thousand ways to stop the boy, but sadly she didn't have the time nor the mental strength to think up of anything better than what she was about to do. Out of the all the possible things that any normal person would do in the situation, the girl resolved to covering the boy's eyes with her hands immediately as her body collided to his. The sudden jolt made Sasuke stop, his smile vanished in an instant.

" Stop! P-please...don't."

The boy stood stock still as the sudden rush dissolved at the sound of her voice. It sounded so shaky, so scared, so broken. Her throat was burning, but she paid no attention to it. Her fingers twitched above his eyelids.

"N-no m-more of this... so please, stop."

She buried her face onto his back, her sniffling muffled by the fabric of the jacket. The boy lifted his foot off of the hound as reality welcomed the boy. He muttered out the girl's name. To which the Hyuuga girl perked up in recognition of the boy's monotonous voice.

"Hinata?"

He felt so... confused, but as the memory of the event rushed into his mind, his fists tightened when realization hit him. She saw him... Hinata saw _him. _He felt so exposed, so ashamed. But those thoughts quickly vanished when Hinata quickly lifted her hands off the boy's face. The light of the morning sky stung his eyes instantly.

The next thing he knew, two small hands cupped his cheeks. He was forced to face at the girl, the boy instantly noticed that her eyes were awfully wet, and her nose and cheeks were abnormally red.

Hinata scanned his face and saw that his eyes were now back to its original color... Onyx. Relief washed over her hastily, she then guided Sasuke's face downwards to hers, making both of their foreheads to touch.

The boy hesitated for a moment, "Hinata?"

The girl didn't fight the sigh from escaping her lips, "Th-thank goodness."

The boy was speechless. Why... isn't she disgusted, terrified, afraid? Why?

"Why?" he asked as he looked down at her eyes, they held no fear, disgust, nothing but relief. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "Aren't you scared?" Hinata couldn't help but nod hesitantly, "A-actually yes... I a-am."

Sasuke's eyes casted downwards. Afraid to look back at her, but Hinata's hands twitched against his cheeks, bringing his attention back at the Hyuuga.

"But... That doesn't mean that, I'm fully afraid of you."

Sasuke noticed that the girl did not stutter at her last sentence, which was a first for him. He couldn't help but lean against her hand and let out a low contented noise. The small smile crept back at her lips at the familiar gesture that resembled the black cat.

"W-we should go."

* * *

Kakashi walked towards the hound, barely alive. He stopped right in front of the poor creature. He bent down and gently stroke the side of its face.

"shhh... it's alright, you did a fine job." With that said, the dog stopped it's whining and succumbed to slumber. The man stood back up again and took out his little notepad. Due to his sharp hearing, he was able to identify the girl's name through their small conversation. _Hinata_, the odd fragile girl who single handily stopped Sasuke from his rampage.

Kakashi recalled the order that he had given to the hound inside his mind...

_"On my mark, I want you to get in there and attack Sasuke, but not the girl? You must let the boy activate his Sharingan... to scare her. So that she will never come near to Sasuke again, we need her to get off of this by fear, understood?"_

That was his plan, his plan on getting the girl out of this dangerous business in which she is completely unaware of. But seeing that the hound did what he was told, his so called "plan" failed, surprisingly. He would have to admit, he admired the girl's courage, anyone would've fled from the gruesome site and horrid exposure of Sasuke's monstrous nature.. She was indeed a strange girl, strange enough to capture Kakashi's attention. He reached into his pocket and fished out the pencil that he wrote with not too long ago, he circled the girl's name and wrote something right under it. The message saying...

_Find more information_

to be continued...

* * *

Hey you, yeah... you there, sitting there staring at the screen.  
enjoyed the chapter? Want more? Well, you can't have any!  
Okay, maybe just a little if you send me a review? O 3 O


	5. Chapter 05

**Chapter 05**

Once they got to the front of the house, Hinata knelt down to the doormat and reached under it. Her fingers searched around until finally she felt something cold. Hinata fished out her house key successfully and unlocked the door with it. She made her way inside the house with Sasuke following her trail.

The two of them walked down the dim lit hallway, Hinata felt a stinging sensation from her leg which reduced her to limping. The girl assumed that she injured herself somehow, she made a mental note to herself that she would tend to it later, because as of now its Sasuke that needs more attention.

They were now in front of another entrance, the girl's hand blindly touched around the wall for the light switch. Once she found it, the kitchen lights illuminated the room in a flash, everything came into full view. Now that Hinata could see, she then turned around to examine Sasuke's state under the help of the light bulb. She easily noticed the three large marks on his torso, the blood that seeped around the mouths of the freshly cut openings of the jacket dried to the point where they looked rather brown. Hinata detected something red glimmering underneath the ruined fabric.

Sasuke followed the girl's gaze. He too realized the scratch marks on the jacket, he remembered it clearly as to how he received the wound before he lost himself into his strange animalistic state. Sasuke wanted to say sorry to the girl about the clothing, but before he could even say his apology, the girl spoke in a quiet tone.

"Sasuke... you go and sit d-down on the stool while I look for something."

After that said, she immediately scurried around the kitchen opening cabinets, Sasuke stood there for just a couple of seconds before he could control his legs again. He made his way to the stool as told and obediently sat down with his arms resting on the counter. He ended up observing the girl as she searched for whatever she was looking for.

Sasuke's mind began to wonder as he stared at the girl, he couldn't help but replay those words that she said back then...

* * *

_"Why?" His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "Aren't you scared?"_

_ Hinata couldn't help but nod hesitantly, "A-actually yes... I a-am."_

_Sasuke's eyes casted downwards. Ashamed to look back at her, but Hinata's hands twitched against his cheeks, bringing his attention back at the Hyuuga._

_"But... That doesn't mean that, I'm fully afraid of you."_

* * *

He didn't quite understand the true meaning behind those words.

"Got it..." She made her way to the counter and opened up the first aid-kit container. She rummaged inside the case and brought out one green bottle with a label that said 'Alcohol', along with a bag filled with puffy white cotton balls. Sasuke tilted his head and wondered what she was going to do with the strange objects.

The girl sanitized her hand and pulled up her sleeves as she readied herself for the procedure. Hinata cautiously poured a little amount of alcohol on the cotton ball, she then faced Sasuke and bravely stuttered out, "S-sasuke, can you please give me the j-jacket?"

He took off the ruined clothing with no struggle and gave the thing back to her as told. She looked down at the sad clothing, she simply placed the jacket on a nearby stool after neatly folding it. The Hyuuga then turned to her patient, she caught sight of it, the large three slanted scratch marks that sent a wave of discomfort through her body.

But she bottled her feelings up and resumed with her little procedure. Hinata then gently rubbed the wettened cotton ball near around the wound, Sasuke felt a little burning sensation when the odd ball of fluff contacted his scratches.

Hinata later then brought out this small bottle and poured out the substance onto her palm. She gently applied it on Sasuke's skin and made circular motions with her forefingers near and around the open wounds. Next she took out a long thin fabric like tape. She positioned herself in front of the boy and carefully wrapped the dressing around his torso... Both of them sat on a stool, facing one another. Both mere inches apart, neither words nor conversations were made between the two so far.

Hinata was far too busy tending his wound that she didn't even notice Sasuke watching her at work in awe, he took note that she was very cautious at what she was doing. It bothered him to see her with such a serious look, he wanted to reach out to her and see that familiar blush appear on her face that he felt so amused and accustomed to... but the heavy quietness that filled the air prevented him to do so. He tilted his head, trying to think on what question would be best to break the ice. Now was the time to ask.

"Hinata... what did you mean back then?"

The girl was in daze, so she didn't capture a single word he said, Sasuke pouted and leaned closer to Hinata's face and called out her name in a low tone. The girl stopped before she could put the adhesive tape to secure the dressing, she instantly jolted her head upward and blinked,

"I-i'm sorry... what?"

"I said... what did you mean back then? I didn't really understand..."

Hinata was silent, not catching what he was trying to say, but Sasuke went on.

"You are afraid of me." He didn't bother turning it into a question, it's a fact.

There was a long pause, she gave a hesitant, slow nod to his boy felt something build up inside his gut much like before, it wasn't a good feeling. His body unknowingly went rigid, it wasn't the first he heard her admit it, but Sasuke disliked it nonetheless.

"Yes, I-I am afraid. But for s-some reason, I just d-don't seem to know why but–"

She struggled on what to say, she stuttered uncontrollably which was kind of hard to make out every word that came out from her lips. The boy was getting rather impatient, right now he was at the end of his stool. Waiting for an answer... He found himself close to her face, but he didn't mind. Well except for Hinata that is, she tried to lean away but Sasuke's eye seemed to anchor her from moving.

"What is it?" he said with a small hint anticipation.

"W-well, you s-see...It's really h-hard to explain so umm, p-please bear with me." Sasuke gave a positive nod and allowed the girl a moment to recollect her thoughts.

"O-okay, I remembered clearly what happened b-back at the rooftop. The w-way you acted, the way y-you looked. It w-was so unlike you. That was when I-I knew that you weren't th-the real you..."

The boy froze, "The real... me?"

Hinata gave a quick nod, "F-forgive me if I-I don't m-make since. I just-" She was interrupted when Sasuke placed his index finger on her lips.

Hinata noticed that he had an unsure look in his eyes,

"So you do... accept me right? I won't get thrown out?" He slowly brought his hand away from her lips after that.

Hinata's eyes widen at his question, "Why would I do th-that? I can't just-"

"So, I can stay?" he asked.

Hinata gave a nod, "Of course, b-but there's a c-catch. You have a-a lot of explaining to do so–"

A knock was heard down the corridor, a familiar voice entered the girl's ears.

"Oi, Hinataaaa! Are you in there?"

Sasuke quickly faced at the direction from where the knocking was heard, he then turned to the Hyuuga with a questioning look. Hinata let out a gasp and hushly uttered out in despair and panick, "Oh n-no, Kiba!" The girl hopped out of her stool much too hastily making her lose her footing. She clumsily knocked Sasuke off the stool, making both him and the girl stumble on the floor with a loud '_thump_'.

The sudden sound caused Kiba to tense, "Hinata, is everything okay in there?" he asked in a concerned tone.

The girl blushed in embarrassment at yet another awkward position that she got herself into again with the boy. Before Sasuke could utter a word of concern over the situation, Hinata's hand covered his lips as she gave Sasuke a silent gesture to stay silent. The girl then lifted her head and forced herself to speak up loud enough for Kiba to hear from the outside, "Y-yeah, I'll be th-there in a minute!"

"Alright, but hurry up. I got something for ya!"

Hinata panicked, she had to hide Sasuke. _Fast._

* * *

_**outside the house...**_

Kiba tapped his feet in slight annoyance, it was obvious that the boy isn't really a patient person. After waiting for what felt like an eternity, he came to a decision to enter the house by using the hidden house key. The boy bent down in search for the key under the doormat, only to find it gone. So Kiba assumed that the door must be open.

He eagerly reached for the doorknob and twisted it. There was a rattling sound, Hinata bit the bottom of her lip as it finally occurred to the girl.

She forgot to lock the door_._

**to be continued...**


	6. Chapter 06

**Chapter 06**

_what should I do, what should I do, what should I do!_

Those were the only words running past poor Hinata's mind right now, beads of sweat ran down her face as she paced around in different directions, unsure on where to go. The girl was having a major panic attack, as for Sasuke... well let's just say that he's unaware of the whole situation.

"Hinata?" Kiba gently closed the door shut, he surveyed the area. No sign of Hinata_. _

He shrugged and made his way inside the small house. But first, the boy took off his shoes and set them aside on the shoe rack which was located near the door way. Kiba then made his way down the hallway.

Hinata heard Kiba's footsteps gradually getting louder, oh how she wanted to disappear right now. She could see the shadow forming near the kitchen entrance, her body began to move on her own. She hastily grabbed the ruined jacket and dragged Sasuke along with her down the other hall .

* * *

"Hinata?" Kiba peaked his head out from the side of the kitchen door, still there was no Hinata in sight. He straightened his posture and began to scratch the back of his head in utter confusion. He was certain that the Hyuuga was here a moment ago, what with all that shuffling noises and what not.

He walked inside the kitchen and looked around some more, that's when he found a small white case lying on the kitchen counter. It was a first aid kit, this worried Kiba at the thought of Hinata being injured.

Before he can even call out Hinata's name again, light footsteps could be heard. The boy moved to the direction of the sound which came from the second kitchen entrance that lead to the living room. The steps were getting louder, it came to a stop when a figure appeared suddenly at the door frame... it was Hinata. Kiba gasped as he felt his heart beating erratically at the little Hyuuga's unannounced appearance.

"Jesus Hinata! You nearly scared the heck out of me!"

He teased with a chuckle after that. But his chuckle died down when he saw Hinata taking in mouthfuls of air, little droplets of sweat rolled down her pale like face. He also noticed that her hands were shaking as they held tightly onto the side door frame as if it were the only thing supporting her body.

"Hinata...what-"

She lifted her face up to see her friend Kiba, the girl instantly greeted the boy while gasping in between a few words.

"O-oh, hello... K-kiba-kun... Everything's f-fine..."

With that done, the girl finally caught up with her breathing. She quickly composed herself, trying to act like nothing strange happened... besides the fact that she hid a shirtless Sasuke in the nearby wardrobe closet. If Kiba were to see Sasuke, who knows what will happen. But the result of the discovery of the strange boy will surely raise unwanted questions that Hinata wouldn't know how to respond to. It will be an ugly mess, that Hinata is most certain of. But as long as nothing strange happens, everything should be okay.

But she had a strange feeling that she overlooked something... something important? But what exactly? It didn't take the girl that long to figure that out. A small white box caught her eye on the kitchen counter, it was the first aid kit. That's when it hit her, she forgot to put the darn thing away after she treated Sasuke's wounds not too many moments ago. Oh how she wanted to smack her forehead right now.

_K-kiba must have already spotted it. I have to m-make an excuse... in other words, l-lie._

He examined the girl carefully from top to bottom, he saw that Hinata's night clothes were slightly dirty.

"Hinata, your pj's..."

The Hyuuga looked down at her clothes and realized yet _another_ problem she overlooked, she was slightly filthy. There were little dirt marks that covered most of her night clothes, she tried thinking of a good lie... wait no, excuse behind both the first aid kit _and_ her messy appearance. When she quickly examined her body downwards, she stopped. There, on her left leg, there was a large brown-ish blob on her knee where her past stinging occured. She didn't know exactly when or how she got the small injury, but it didn't matter. She needed an excuse dammit, and she needs it now.

A light bulb flickered on in her head.

"I was r-running around the house t-to find some band-aids, the first a-aid kit didn't have any and-"

Kiba raised his brow, "Why were you looking for them?"

"O-oh, that's b-because I tripped down the s-stairs and g-got a little scratch on my knee."

She scratched the back of her neck,

"Heh, I-I'm such a klutz sometimes."

Hinata forced a cheerful laugh, hoping that Kiba will laugh along with her. But he didn't, not even a chuckle. The Hyuuga noticed this, her laughing eventually died down to a stop. She quickly gave out a wave as if dismissing an unsaid concern away.

"B-but don't w-worry, I'm not severely injured o-or anything... I only g-got a scratch on my knee s-so..."

Kiba didn't bother to hear the rest of the explanation, he quickly came closer to Hinata and grabbed her by the hand. The girl looked up, surprised by his action.

"K-kiba?"

"Idiot, you shouldn't be laughing when you're hurt."

His grip on her hand tightened a little, "Come on, I'll treat that scratch of yours."

Hinata blinked a couple of times and finally submitted obediently.

"O-okay..."

* * *

Sasuke found that he was inside what seems to be a small windowless room, it was dark but not fully. A faint light leaked through the little keyhole that was just a couple steps away from Sasuke. The boy shook his head free from the jacket that was lying on his head and saw it slip down to the ground. He looked around for the girl, only to find nothing but coat hangers and a couple of shoe boxes here an there. He let out a confused noise at the sudden change of surroundings and absence of the girl, after that... His ears perked upwards at the sound of a familiar voice, which came from the other side of the door. Sasuke eagerly pushed his way through the hanging jackets and shoe boxes until he reached the door. He reached out his hand for the metal door knob and turned it.

Sasuke stopped when he heard an unfamiliar voice with his acute ears. The boy curiously tilted his face near the thin open line of the door, his left eye managed to peak in between the space and spotted two figures...

* * *

Kiba gently lifted Hinata's light body up on the kitchen counter, once settled she sat there quietly with her legs dangling over the edge of the table. Kiba was busy searching through the med kit for something, so they didn't talk for a while. Hinata started fiddling with her fingers again and tried her best to act calm.

Needless to say, the shy Hyuuga didn't expect all this to happen... she also didn't expect her friend, Kiba to act so worried as well. Not that she's saying that her friend doesn't care much about her or anything but, it's just the girl never saw him THIS serious. The reason for that could be that Hinata RARELY gets herself hurt, since she takes rather good care of herself both in and outside of the house. She would always remind herself to take her daily meds and wear suitable clothes by the judge of the weather outside. You name it. She is a big girl, both she and Kiba knew that.

But Hinata shouldn't be surprised by Kiba's reaction, because he's practically her older brother. He cares for her yes, she will have to admit that, but she never really notice HOW much he cared for her. To the point where he is actually becoming a mother. And then, the thought of Kiba in a cooking apron popped into her mind suddenly.

With Hinata pondering within her own thoughts, she didn't notice Kiba kneeling down in front of her. He swiftly rolled up the hem of her pajama pants up until the scratch on her knee was fully exposed, he then brought out the green alcohol bottle and began to apply it on her knee.

"Hold on, this may hurt a bit"

She felt the sting from the liquid, Hinata bit her lower lip to keep a whimper from escaping her lips. Kiba did his best on quickly rubbing the ointment on her wound as fast as he can without applying any unnecessary pressure. After that, he brought out one clean handkerchief from the back pocket of his pants before securely wrapping it around the wound.

He let out a sigh of relief, "There... it may not be a band aid but at least it will cover it from any infection."

He looked up to see Hinata's watering eyes, he leaned in and gently wiped away the tears.

"Geez, you really know how to worry a joker."

He ruffled her hair and placed his forehead on hers, Kiba let out a shaky tear. "You... really are something Hinata. Don't be so reckless next time alright?" He whispered pleadingly under his breath.

Hinata huffed up, she crossed her arms and pouted "You're the one to t-talk... Mister troublemaker who pulls off reckless pranks and gets himself detention."

Kiba threw his head back and chuckled, his famous trademark grin clear on his face.

"Haha, touché Hyuuga. Touché."

He admitted with a snap of his finger that ended in this gun point gesture, she failed to contain her giggle. "Th-thank you Kiba, for this." She elevated the bandaged knee a little bit to motion at his handiwork, the boy chuckled and ruffled the top of her head. "No problem squirt."

The boy remembered back then, when they were kids... The little Hyuuga would cry over the simplest of things, she was a major crybaby in elementary school. Kiba would always run to her side and comfort her with little gestures like ruffling up her hair while mumbling a few words of comfort. He would also make his forehead touch hers as he held her small tubby hands with his, while he would try to get her breathing steady with his... They grew out from that forehead touching thing years ago, well sort of. But other than that, Kiba would often tell a funny joke or two that will, without fail, make her laugh, since laughter is the best medicine mind you.

After his little childhood flashback, he found himself up close to Hinata's face once again, the boy couldn't stop the heat from reaching his face. Kiba felt a lump inside his throat, he forced a gulp. Hinata noticed her quite friend, she burrowed her brows questioningly to the boy.

"Kiba? Are you s-still upset about what h-happened?"

The boy did not answer, his hands unknowingly dropped down to her cheeks. Calloused knuckles brushed gently against her plush pale skin. Why does she have to be so damn innocent? Does she not know that her actions have this sort of affect on him?

"No, that's not it Hinata, I just-"

Suddenly, a loud noise was heard down the boy was knocked out of his trance, "What was that?" The two of them walked down the hall and found the wardrobe door open with a big pile of jackets and coats lying on the floor. Kiba furrowed his brows as he approached to the large pile.

"Whoa, What happened here?"

He bent down and lifted up a sleeve of a coat, Hinata tensed up. She extended her hand out to Kiba, "W-wait Kiba!" Before the boy knew it, he spotted two obscure eyes glaring at him from within the stack of clothes.

"What the-"

Kiba's field of vision was covered by something black and furry, extracted claws dug into the side of his temples. The boy let out a startled and painful cry, "G-GAAAAH!" He took a couple steps back, his fingers doing their very best on prying whatever was on his face OFF. His foot however tripped over a small running shoe and his whole body fell backwards, something hard hit the back of his head. Darkness came and engulfed him.

* * *

There sat Kiba on the living room couch with his arms crossed over his chest, his face covered in multiple scratch marks and a big bump on the back of his head. He looked horrible. His wild eyes were glaring at the black feline that was sitting on Hinata's lap... Oh how he despised cats.

"So let me get this straight. You rescued that, that thing from the streets yesterday?"

She gave a nod, "Y-yes."

"And when you woke up, you... you didn't see him on your bed side and panicked."

"y-yeah..."

"So, you ran around the house trying to look for it... which gave you that scratch."

"Mmmhm."

He brought his hand up and scratched his scalp,

"Damn... you really ARE something Hinata."

_Panicking and hurting yourself over that thing._

The girl looked down at Sasuke and scratched him behind the ears, earning a cute purr. "Sorry about that Kiba... It's j-just that, I'm a-afraid that you might tell Neji-niisan about Sasuke. He'll be f-furious."

"Damn right he will be! I mean, what if that cat is infected Hinata? What is he has rabies?"

The girl shook her head in denial,"I checked him Kiba. He's completely c-clean, I'm sure of it."

She looked down and the cat with sad eyes, "Please Kiba, don't tell Nejinii-san, he'll get rid o-of Sasuke, and I-i... I don't want that to happen."

The boy couldn't believe his ears, he wanted to convince her to let the little fur ball go before she could even get herself in trouble. And she was right, he was going to tell Neji about this, it was for the best, the little thing attacked him for goodness sake! He's a wild cat, he might go all berserk and hurt Hinata. But damn, he couldn't. Why? Because of her. He could not stand to see Hinata sad, Kiba would KILL himself if he ever made Hinata cry over something that HE did. He bit his tongue behind his lips.

"Don't worry, I won't tell Neji about... Sasuke." His ended up saying the cat's name with more venom then he thought he would. The cat's ears perked at the mentioning of his name.

Hinata's body perked up, "R-really! Do you m-mean that Kiba?"

Kiba slumped down, making him sink on the couch, he let out a sigh.

"Yeah. I won't tell him."

"Promise?" Her eyes no longer held that sad teary look, instead it was replaced with plea. Kiba grinned, he was happy to see that Hinata was back to normal, but he couldn't help but feel that this was going to end badly for him. He's not much of a promise keeper because...well, he is practically a prince of mischief, but what the hey. This is Hinata, and he couldn't bring himself to disappoint her.

"I promise, " He raised his right hand and marked an invisible x to the location where his heart is with his other hand. "Scout's honor."

Hinata couldn't hide her smile, "Thank you, Kiba. I o-owe you big time."

Kiba gave her a nod, "No problem." the boy rubbed the back of his head, only to feel pain when his hand made contact with the bump. "Well, there goes my movie plan," He saw the confusion on her face, and of course he had to gave her a better description of his statement.

"It was supposed to be my apology treat for you. It's for, you know... for not walking you home yesterday, but seeing your knee's all injured, I guess the whole movie thing is out the window then. Hmm, maybe we can rent some movies and watch them here at your house."

The sound of a cat's grumble caught his attention, Sasuke turned his head and gave Kiba a death glare, Kiba winced. The look of dissatisfaction clear on it's facial feature.

"But I don't think that your new friend would like that."

* * *

"Kabuto, when will Kakashi come back?"

The man in glasses stopped with his scribbling, "Pretty soon."

The pale, long haired man puffed up his cheeks,"Hmph, he should know better than to keep me waiting this long." He slumped down in his chair, Kabuto let out a little chuckle at his boss's childish behavior.

"Don't worry sir, Kakashi should be here right about... now." As if on que, the door slid open and in came no other than Kakashi. This made Orochimaru bolt up from his chair, "Kakashi! Finally you're back! You sure took your time, so... did you find Sasuke?"

He gave a nod, "Affirmative. It seems that he is under someone's care in Konoha." Orochimaru raised his brows in surprise, amazed that Sasuke was quickly taken in by somebody. He leaned on his work desk with his elbows, eager to know more...

"Who exactly is taking care of my experiment?"

Kakashi placed a folder on his desk, the boss then opened it and began to skim through the stapled documents.

"Hyuuga, Hinata. Daughter of the renowned man Hiashi Hyuuga, founder of the Hyuuga Enterprise; Attends to Konoha High School; and also-"

He was interrupted by Orochimaru's statement,

"Oh dear.. it seems that she has horrible health. Poor soul, she's awfully adorable, I was actually considering on taking her." He laid the folder down in plain view, a disappointed sigh managed to escape his lips.

"It's a shame that she's untouchable to us, just imagine the wonders I could do, the experiments that I could conduct!" He rested his chin on his cupped hand while he clicked his tongue in disappointment. "Such a pity. That and it'll be much more harder for us to take back our experiment without raising any attention from the girl."

Orochimaru began to scratch his chin, a simple gesture that showed that he was thinking... but what exactly is he thinking? His amber like eyes gazed down at the picture, the girl's pearly orbs staring blankly back at him.

"This truly is difficult."

The man's lips slowly formed into a wicked smile that held a very dark promise to it.

"But that's what makes it fun."

**to be continued...**


	7. Chapter 07

**Chapter 07**

The feline continued again with its soft purring and snuggling. The cat enjoyed himself and paid no attention to anything but to the girl's warmth and constant pettings. Hinata on the other hand was too busy stuttering away, saying her apologies to her friend Kiba for about an hour or two. Or was it three?

The boy didn't know, and he simply didn't care, for he was furious to even give a dang. Kiba's hand twitched. The boy was sweating bullets, it took him a lot of strength to restrain himself from yanking the cat's dirty paws off of his crush – urm, friend and throw the damn thing out the window. Oh how he wanted to stuff the cat in the oven and turn the dial up to 500 degrees and watch the cat burn in agony. But no, no way would he ever do such horrible yet tempting act, that is unless the girl, Hinata isn't around to keep an eye on the creature. He could easily see that she was protective of the little fur ball, seeing the way she held the creature close to her. Afraid that she would drop him or lose him, while the feline gets to feel the comfort and luxury of being held by her.

But - Kiba couldn't stop this feeling in his chest, it bothered him greatly. Could this be, jealousy? Pfft, yeah right. Like Kiba would ever be jealous over that ugly little thing. But he couldn't help but imagine himself as the cat, the very exact same cat that sat across from him that was being showered by Hinata's attention. To have her hands to pet him gently on the head, down to his back. Wait… hold up!

Kiba stopped himself and couldn't stop the blush that ran across his face, Kiba quickly covered his face with his long sleeved jacket. Hinata was startled at his sudden action and asked what was wrong. The boy simply responded that it was nothing, Kiba couldn't look directly at her snow white eyes, those innocent pure eyes of hers...

Kiba gulped as a sweat dropped from the side of his head.

_Oh God, what the hell is wrong with me?_

* * *

"Bye K-kiba."

"Sure, seeya Hinata."

Hinata stood near the doorway and waved at her fellow friend Kiba while he walked away, she kept it up until the boy was out of sight. The Hyuuga then closed the door, and she remembered to lock it this time. Hinata's back leaned against the door, her hand placed right on top of her chest, on top of her heart. She could still feel it beating again, and again, and again, and again. She just couldn't seem to calm it down. Her legs began to wobble, her body slowly slid down against the door until her bottom met the floor. She began to tremble.

"N-no, I can't believe I lied to K-kiba, to my v-very own friend... Did I do the right thing?" She turned pale, as white as a ghost. Hinata never did enjoy lying, heck she never lied in her life! Especially to her friend Kiba.

"Mao?" Hinata looked down to see a little feline at her side, Sasuke.

The girl vigorously straightened her back to compose herself, she then cleared her throat to the side just to hide her embarrassing blush, "I'm so sorry y-you had to s-see that." Her cheeks were a bit flushed.

The cat gave a simple nod to Hinata, a gesture that showed his understanding. The little Hyuuga's eyes saddened a bit, Sasuke couldn't help but tilt his head in confusion. Hinata noticed and began to explain,"S-sorry Sasuke, I shouldn't have p-placed you there in that closet, I w-wasn't even thinking straight." She sulked in shame. "Urgh, I'm such an idiot… are you hurt anywhere?"

Sasuke didn't feel soar or in pain for the moment, so he just shook his head once again.

Hinata let out a relieved sigh, "Thank goodness." She wrapped her arms around her legs, she then placed her chin on her knees. There was an odd silence, but it didn't last long,

"N-now then, about Kiba-kun. I know you didn't mean to attack Kiba, it was just p-pure instincts that caused you to react like that, right?"

Well yes. That's true, just not entirely.

"But you know, Kiba isn't a bad guy, he's a good friend of m-mine and you should get used to his presence alright? He'll be coming o-once in a while because we live close by."

With that information given, Sasuke's ears lowered down and he averted his eyes to the side a bit. Clearly discomforted by the given information, the girl couldn't help but melt a bit when she saw the cute expression and gesture the little feline made, it was as if he was annoyed or something. Her hands suddenly began to move towards Sasuke, her fingers hesitantly stroked his soft black fur. Sasuke's body perked a bit at the sudden touch but after one second, he instantly enjoyed the comfort of her strokes. Hinata noticed that the white bandage that she wrapped around his torso area wasn't there anymore.

_I-it must've came off when he transformed._

She examined the cat's body even closer by gently brushing her hand down to Sasuke's chest, the scratches were gone as well.

"Wow, You're wounds… they're already g-gone."

Amazed by the fast recovery, Hinata didn't realize that Sasuke was staring at the girl once again.

He didn't even pay any attention to the vanished scratch marks that was once inflicted on his chest, but was focused instead on the obvious. How odd, he thought. That a girl like her would even be worried over such small injuries that could be healed in an instant, strange is the only thing that Sasuke can describe the girl. But, he couldn't help but admit that he was indeed drawn to her.

The feline purred, he stood up and walked towards the girl while keeping the side of his back in contact with the girls whole arm.

The corner of her lips curved up at the cute sight, his smooth onyx fur tickled Hinata's arms, she failed to refrain another giggle. But the tingly sensation stopped when Sasuke saw whatever that covered the Hyuuga's knee. Something didn't smell right, a strange scent was radiating off from the handkerchief that was hugging onto the girls leg, Sasuke cautiously took another step closer, he let out a growl as his nose twitched in disgust.

"Wh-what's wrong Sasuke?"

The cat didn't choose to respond to her question, instead he continued to glare at the ugly looking cloth. Sasuke could smell _him_, the boy Kiba. For some odd reason, he wanted to run after the boy and finish what he had left off, he really wanted to claw out his eye balls. The scent annoyed Sasuke dearly, he needed to get rid of it, fast. The feline swiftly sank his teeth down on the fabric without touching the girl, and simply pulled the handkerchief away, thus ending the scarf's embrace. Hinata sat there, with eyes wide as they can be. Sasuke was tackling the poor cloth, tearing it to pieces.

"S-sasuke?"

Hinata helplessly watched as Sasuke vigorously bit, wrestled, and clawed at the sad handkerchief into as many pieces as he could. It was a somewhat gruesome site to look at. The little cloth was pushed aside, by the murderer himself. But the cat was not satisfied, oh no. For the stench still lingered in the air, he turned his attention to Hinata's knee. "S-sasuke? What's with that l-look?"

The little feline approached her, his nose twitched as he got closer. There he stood, his head hovering over the wound that emitted the disgusting smell. The cat cautiously leaned in closer to the girl's knee, the stench was overwhelming.

_tch._

Hinata gasped, right when Sasuke's tongue made contact with her bruised knee, the stinging sensation returned again. But this time, it didn't hurt as much as before. After every lick, the annoying stinging gradually decreased, the Hyuuga girl could feel something strange happening to her knee. Before she knew it, the cat stopped with it's licking. The scent of the boy can no longer be caught by his sharp nose, he could finally breathe in clean air again.

Hinata looked down, her jaw dropped.

"H-how." The bruise on her knee were no longer there, gone, nada, zip.

She brought up her knee close to her face to get a better look.

_A-amazing, how on earth did he do that?_

"I-it's really... gone." she poked her knee where the wounds used to be, only to feel no pain "Yup, it's gone."

"Mao."

Hinata's ears perked at the sound, she looked down only to find Sasuke looking back at her.

"Sasuke." The cat tilted his head in response. Hinata looked back and forth between her healed knee and Sasuke, she forced down a gulp.

"T-tell me, what e-exactly _are_ you, Sasuke?"

* * *

A presentation was taking place within the dark cave, two men sat still on their chairs, listening attentively while their eyes were fixed upon the flashing screen. Pictures, figures, plans, and random doodles showed in each slides, one right after the other.

A man with gorgeously long silky hair happily pointed out the pictures that were on the screen with his handy dandy metallic ruler, while speaking of his master plan.

"Thus giving us our prime objective with a little bonus."

With that said, he lightly tapped on the red button that was located on his desk, the projector turned off at the push of the button, the images began to fade away as the office lights awaken from their short nap. The man turned his attention to his two most trusted companions with a cute yet slightly creepy smile on his face.

"S what do you guys think? Which one of my plans do you much rather prefer?"

There he stood, waiting for a response, there was no reply. The man lady simply decided to take to direct approach.

"Well, which one shall it be? Kabuto, Kakashi?"

Nobody said a word once again, Orochimaru puffed his cheeks.

"You guys are so cruel! Are my plans really that horrible?"

Kabuto simply shook his head, "No no , It's not that." the young man brought up his right hand and pushed up his glasses up to the bridge of his nose. "Your plans are just so, very well thought through. The calculations, the date, the timing, everything. Simply flawless… But – "

"But what?"

The man, Kabuto couldn't help but give a small chuckle at his boss's intense yet childish look on his face, Orochimaru's amber like eyes all on Kabuto, begging him to finish his sentence.

"It's just that I can't seem to pick which one is the best."

Orochimaru's eyes sparkled, "Really? hmm, I guess so. Considering that I'm a genius." He laughed boastfully, like any egotistic man would.

The guy with the spectacles nodded in agreement. Kakashi on the other hand was silent, Orochimaru didn't hear a peep out of him for quite some time, not even a sigh or a cough. The snake was getting very concerned.

"Say Kakashi, is there something bothering you?"

The masked man calmly looked up to his boss "Oh, Please forgive me Orochimaru. I was just too busy trying to figure out which one to pick." He let out a little chuckle and scratched the back of his head. The snake man flashed a smile,

"It's alright, I too can't seem pick one from the bunch."

Orochimaru leaned back on his desk, his face looking up at the ceiling, his eyes looking rather distant. "Hmm… which one, which one." seconds felt like minutes, minutes felt like hours, and they have yet to decide on which procedure to choose until Orochimaru gave a dissatisfied nose by sticking out his serpent like tongue and blew a raspberry.

"I don't wish to partake in this boring picking game anymore." The two men instantly looked at their boss in concern. And as usual, the four eyed man spoke in behalf of Kakashi.

"What are you saying? Are you dropping all the plans?"

The long haired man gave a violent nod, "Yup! Urm, well no. Not entirely. I whipped myself a better one, a plan that is much, much, more enjoyable than the previous ones." Kakashi couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, obviously curious as to what this sinister man is going on about. For as long as he remembered, this person, Orochimaru is by far the most oddest man he's every met. his moves are unpredictable, no matter how hard Kakashi tried, he just can't seem to determine his boss's way of thinking. And he often questioned on where the obscure man got his sense of humor from.

But he knew well that Orochimaru's appearance are very deceiving from who he really is. Underneath all that childish demeanor lies an intellectually sick mastermind. And out of impulse, he blurted the question out, in hopes that the answer was something that isn't entirely insane.

"Is that so? Let's hear it then"

There was a chuckle, "Alright, alright. So impatient aren't you? But first, I'd like to play a game." Orochimaru imitated a Cheshire smile, revealing his two deadly venomous fangs. Kakashi smirked under his mask, "And what game might that be?" The long haired man placed his index finger on his lips and looked at both of the young men with such fake innocence, he giggled with villainous excitement.

"A very enticing game that I'm sure you'll very much enjoy."

**to be continued...**

* * *

Oh my, Orochimaru gotts a naughty game for poor innocent Kabuto and Kakashi! Nah~ just kidding


	8. Announcement

Hello! Long time no see. My, it has been quite some time hasn't it? Apologies for the very late update, in all honesty I was about to give up on this silly fanfic. Mainly because I was just too damn embarrassed on my previous work. All of the previous chapters were so messy and meh... just plain ugly. It took me a lot of time and patience to go back and edit it all.

Just to make it clear, I am NOT ending the story here.. that solely depends on whether or not you readers are interested in the continuation of this story of not. I'll be noting the feedbacks and comments that would be given by you and the other readers..

Before I head on back to whipping up the next chapter, I suggest that you all go back to the beginning and reread the chapters. It should help refresh your memory on what happened so far, and also I've inputted more description on the characters a bit.

PLEASE don't hesitate on typing down your thoughts, I would like to hear what you guys think of the re-constructed chapters. It would really help out a lot!

Thank you again, and I wish you all a good Holiday as well as a Happy New Year!

THIS WILL SOON BE REMOVED UNTIL CHAPTER 08 IS POSTED


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